allonlinenovel Chapter 189 Lingchi execution
Chapter 189 Lingchi execution
Madam Shen was in no better shape; the moment she saw Ma Mingyuan, she knew it was all over.
Nine years ago, Marquis Chengen sent men to kill Ma Mingyuan to silence him. The men sent out have reported that the mission has been accomplished.
To everyone's surprise, Ma Mingyuan not only survived, but also came forward to testify and accuse them.
Could it be that Ma Mingyuan was saved by Madam Shen back then?
Thinking of this, Madam Shen felt a chill run down her spine.
If it was Old Madam Shen who saved Ma Mingyuan, then she would have known the truth nine years ago, which would explain why Old Madam Shen was unwilling to see her.
Madam Shen has endured this long; she wouldn't have come to appeal unless she was absolutely certain of success.
Madam Shen grew increasingly anxious as she thought about it, and looked at Emperor Jing'an with alarm and unease.
Emperor Jing'an slammed the two letters onto their laps and said in a deep voice, "Shen Wenxian, do you have anything else to say?"
Marquis Chengen shuddered. He didn't need to read the letter; he already knew its contents.
One of the letters he wrote was to his elder brother, urging him to take the official road instead of the waterway to the capital.
He said he hadn't seen his elder brother for a long time and wanted to see him as soon as possible, so he would ask his father for permission to personally leave Beijing to welcome him.
Before his elder brother went to Beijing, he wrote back to him, agreeing to his request.
The other letter was sent by the bandits after the deed was done, demanding money.
He opened his mouth, wanting to continue his sophistry, but found himself unable to refute it.
"According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, anyone who beats their elder brother or sister to death shall be beheaded, and anyone who intentionally kills them shall be executed by slow slicing." Emperor Jing'an decreed: "Shen Wenxian and Shen Liushi, you intentionally killed your own brother and sister-in-law, and shall be executed by slow slicing according to the law."
After the charges were settled, Marquis Chengen trembled uncontrollably. He crawled to his knees beside Old Madam Shen, tears streaming down his face, and pleaded, "Mother, I was wrong. Please, withdraw the lawsuit and spare my life. My elder brother is already gone. Do you want to see your son die again, you old woman?"
Madam Shen, weak and limp, collapsed in front of Old Madam Shen, weeping bitterly, and said, "Mother-in-law, I am innocent! I was kept in the dark about the Marquis killing my elder brother and sister-in-law. I don't know the inside story. Please, please let me go. I will treat Heng'er well and atone for my brother and sister-in-law's sins."
When Madam Shen heard Emperor Jing'an pronounce the verdict, tears streamed down her face. No parent in the world wants to face their children in court.
She looked at the extremely disheveled and cowardly Marquis Chengen and Madam Shen, and her lips twitched.
"You value your own lives, yet you don't treat other people's lives as human lives. When you hired someone to kill your brother and sister-in-law, did you ever think that they would beg you to show mercy and spare their lives?"
Madam Shen wiped away the tears on her face with the back of her hand: "From the moment you committed evil, you should have expected this outcome."
Before Marquis Chengen and Madam Shen could say anything more, Old Madam Shen kowtowed to Emperor Jing'an and spoke again: "Your Majesty, I must also accuse my unfilial son, Shen Wenxian, of corruption, abuse of power, and deceiving the Emperor... He colluded with officials and merchants in Guanzhou to embezzle grain intended for disaster relief, falsely reported the disaster in Qingzhou to defraud the court of disaster relief funds, and illegally traded salt permits... I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
Marquis Chengen looked at Old Madam Shen in disbelief, the last glimmer of light in his eyes shattering.
During the days he was locked up in jail awaiting interrogation, he imagined countless scenarios of what he would face, but he never imagined that his own mother would betray him for the greater good!
His mother had always favored his eldest brother, so he could somewhat understand why she sought justice for him.
But he couldn't understand why his mother would expose the cases in Guanzhou and Qingzhou.
Once he is convicted, his entire family will be executed.
His own spouse betrayed him and wanted his life.
His own mother not only wanted his life, but also wanted to cut off the family line.
"Mother, no matter how much you hate me, you can't smear me and accuse me of such a heinous crime!" Marquis Chengen said with a pained expression, "I want to ask you, am I your biological son?"